Chapter 18
“This is it,” Ilsa said to Kevin as she directed him to the parking lot of her daughter’s apartment, and after he parked, the others traveling with them found their own space.
They climbed out of their vehicles, and followed Ryan to the entrance.
He opened the door, and looked a Ilsa with a raised brow.
“Third floor.”
Instead of taking the elevator, they opted for the stairs, keeping Jason and Ilsa in the center of them. The men in the lead held a gun down to their side, heads on a swivel.
“Shit,” Ilsa swore as they reached the third floor and everyone stopped to turn to stare at her.
She only pointed down the hall, and everyone turned and saw a door with yellow crime scene tape crisscrossed over it.
As they were closer, they saw the door wasn’t closed, and a card was taped to the front.
It was from the police, and on the back, there was a message for Katherine to call when she got the card.
“Shit,” Ilsa said again as she read the card in Kevin’s hand.
“What?”
“That is the name of one of the officers that Grayson has on his payroll.” At their looks of shock, she shook her head.
“Trust me, I know all their names. I think for the time being, we should go to my house and regroup. I will not contact this asshole, I’m going to go above their head and go directly to the chief of police and tell him what’s going on. ”
“Not before we check out your house,” Jason said firmly. “If someone broke into Katherine’s, what’s to say they didn’t break into yours. You’ve been gone for a couple of months.”
“There is that, but I have a state-of-the-art security system.” At their skeptical looks, she shook her head. “Trust me.”
They made their way back down, Kevin had put the business card in his pocket, and he led the caravan to Ilsa’s house.
They had to stop and Kevin looked at her with a smirk and raised brow.
“Code?” The gates to her home were closed and locked, she gave him the code, which he punched in, the gates opened, and they all drove through.
Once outside the vehicles, the men looked around.
It was Perry who looked at Ilsa with a scowl.
“What?”
“Are the signs correct? Is the fence live?”
“Yes. I had it set up like this after Katherine’s accident and when George and Michael Babcock would harass her. These came in handy when she was here after her trial ended and Michael’s started.”
“Wait,” Lloyd said with a frown. “How did George and his cop buddies knock on your door when they came here for Larry to go to Katherine’s apartment?”
“Larry let them in. When I realized Larry had left, I contacted the security company and had the code changed. I was in Seattle when that happened. The entire time Kevin entered it, I held my breath, because this is the first time it was used.”
“Okay,” Clark said as he turned in a circle. “How many acres?”
“Two, my entire property is surrounded by this fence.”
“Mind if we check it out?”
“Not at all. Come into the house when you’re done.” She grabbed her suitcase and headed toward the front entrance, with Kevin and Jason on her heels.
“Wait!” Reid called out and did hand motions to the men, and they were all in front of Ilsa. “Let us clear the house before you enter.”
She nodded, gave him the code, then went back to the SUV for her second suitcase.
By the time she returned to the front entrance, the men had returned and told them it was clear.
Once inside, Ilsa looked around like she was seeing everything for the first time and didn’t like what she saw.
She knew right then and there that once this was over, or at least once Grayson was behind bars, she wouldn’t be staying in this house, let alone Los Angeles any longer.
By the time everyone had unloaded their things, and the boxes upon boxes of paperwork, Ilsa opened one of the drawers in the kitchen and brought out a stack of take-out menus. “Order what you’d like, I’m paying. I’ll get to the grocery store tomorrow.”
“No,” Clark said. “We will go to the grocery store. You, Black, and Kevin are staying put. That’s why we’re here. We’re your security.”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“You’re not. Go change, or shower, or whatever, when you’re done, we’ll place a food order, and sit down and plan.
I have an idea, but I won’t talk about it until the food is here.
We’ll go walk the perimeter, and get back here.
” His tone brooked no argument, and it wasn’t long before Ilsa showed all of them her home.
Once she entered her bedroom, with the door closed, Jason turned to Clark.
“What do you have in mind?”
“It can wait, go get settled.” Clark turned on his heel and left, leaving Jason standing there, but he shook his head and did as instructed.
Two hours later, everyone sat back from their meals and turned to Clark. “What idea did you have?” Jason asked again.
“We all know that it’s going to be hard getting warrants signed for the arrest of Grayson and his goons.
They are FBI agents and police officers, after all.
Does anyone not agree with this?” When no one said differently, he nodded.
“Okay, this is just a thought, but we’re going to need someone in our corner.
I’ll reach out to the DEA and AFT that you gave me their contact information for tomorrow, invite them over and let them know what’s going on. ”
“I’ll agree with that.” Jason nodded. “They need to know what they’re up against.”
“Good, I’m glad you think that. Now, Ilsa, this next question is for you.”
“What’s that?”
“On a scale of one to ten, how well do you trust Lyle Anderson?”
“Twenty.”
“Okay, then I think tomorrow, not tonight, because it’s getting late, but I think tomorrow you should give him a call and have him know you’re back, and invite him over to attend the meeting with the ATF and DEA.
I also think that the head guy at the police station should be here.
If these arrests are made, then he, or she, will be caught with their pants down. ”
“We don’t need them to muck up our investigation,” Jason said with a nod. He turned to Ilsa. “I agree with Clark about that. We can even show them the card Kevin took off Katherine’s door.”
“I took pictures of it,” Ryan said from his seat.
When the others turned to him, he shrugged.
“Proof that it was there.” He accessed the camera on his phone and passed it around.
Everyone saw the card on the door, then a zoomed in photo with Kevin reaching up to take it down.
He turned to Ilsa. “Is there anything in your paperwork about the bad local cops having dealings with Grayson?”
“We have Duane Manchester’s statement, as well as the recording of when he called and Katherine verified it was George Babcock.
That was when we realized Grayson and Babcock was one and the same.
Oh, and we also have the video from Laurie and Caleb’s phones at that same time.
It clearly shows George Babcock, that’s what I’m going to call him, because that’s what I know him as, along with Larry, and three cops.
” She paused and nodded only once. “This evidence was taken in Colorado Springs.”
“Good, then we have more proof for the locals that they have bad apples among them.” He looked around the room and studied everyone there.
“Is anyone opposed to having this meeting with these particular people?” No one objected, and Ilsa said she’d call Lyle the next day, and Jason said he’d reach out to his contacts at the other agencies.
It was decided that Ilsa would convince Lyle to bring the chief of police to the meeting.
They cleaned up their mess from dinner, and after going through Ilsa’s cupboards, the men made up a grocery list for the next day.
They ended up bunking throughout the entire house.
Some took a spare room to share, others found space in the basement, and others camped out on the couches in the two different living rooms. Before they settled for the night, they set up a rotation of who would be on guard duty throughout the night.
Four days later, Clark looked up from his coffee and watched as Ilsa came into the room, looking nervous.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just that the meeting is in less than an hour. I have one fear, and I can’t seem to kick it.”
“What’s that?” When she remained silent, he put the paper he’d been reading down and stared at her. “Ilsa, we’re here to help. Let us know your fear, and if it looks like it might happen, then we can step in and help.”
She studied him intently for several minutes, then drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush.
“Okay, I fear that Chief Brant, will accuse me of aiding and abetting Larry in his dealings with Babcock. That he will somehow turn it around so that he’s going to arrest me before the meeting is over. ”
“Wow, okay, I never saw that coming, but did you?”
“What? No, absolutely not.”
“Do you have proof?”
“I like to think so.”
“You do,” Kevin said as he entered the kitchen. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. There is nothing in the evidence we have that points to you being any type of accomplice in this, Ilsa.”
“Thank you,” Ilsa said on a heavy sigh. They sat there in silence, and when the doorbell pealed, Ilsa tensed, but Clark reached out and took her hands in his.
“Breathe, you got this.”
“Thank you.” She nodded as she jumped to her feet and hurried to the door. Clark followed, with a fresh cup of coffee and nodded when he saw Denver and Perry on either side of the door, guns in hand, ready to pull her away if it was dangerous.
Ilsa opened the door and laughed when she was engulfed in a gigantic hug, twirled around, then set on her feet by the first man that entered. The second one reached in and gave her a hug, and gave an air kiss to her cheek. Kevin and Clark exchanged confused looks.
Denver shut the door behind them, but then opened it again when the bell sounded.
This time, it was Jason who rushed forward and greeted the two gentlemen with handshakes.
It took about fifteen minutes to get everyone gathered and into the basement, where Kevin had set up ‘murder’ boards for their timeline.
Ilsa had baked all morning, and there was a spread of sandwiches and sweets laid out for anyone to help themselves to, along with bottled water, coffee, and iced tea.
The new arrivals seemed confused, but with Jason, Ilsa, and Kevin standing before them, the meeting got underway quickly.
“Thank you all for coming. I’ll get right to why we invited you here.
I’m Jason Black, I’m a lawyer for the DOD out of Washington DC.
A few months ago, something was brought to my attention, and the President of the United States gave me permission to investigate to my fullest capabilities.
It’s been a long hard road, and we’re ready for our next step, however, that’s why you gentlemen are here.
We’re going to need your help. Standing beside me is Ilsa Miller, she’s a defense lawyer with Lyle Anderson’s firm.
She’s been in on this investigation with me.
Next to her is Kevin Lassiter, he’s a homicide detective out of Seattle, Washington.
” Jason nodded to them, then raised his hand and moved it to take in the others in the room.
“The gentlemen standing around, armed, are our security. Each of them are Navy SEALs from Delta Team.” Jason nodded again when he saw respect on the other men’s face.
“Why exactly are we here?” Chief Brant asked.
“Gentlemen, with your help, we’re here to take down the FBI.